Many women wear sports bras while engaging in athletic activities. These bras are specifically designed to withstand the increased wear and tear of exercise, and to support a woman's breasts while they are rapidly moving. In the past, sports bras and support garments had emphasized support, which consequently resulted in a tight fit and flattening of the chest. Some sports bras are not made of a breathable fabric. The present invention seeks to solve these problems, and in doing so, increase the comfort level of the user. The support garments mold themselves to the wearer's body, are breathable and fashionable.
There are several “no-bounce” or foam support undergarments that have previously received patents. None of these prior patents explicitly use memory foam to support the body and keep breasts or gluteals from bouncing. In fact, prior patents simply do not teach a product whose purpose is to use memory foam to support moving parts of the body.
Patents exist for bras with foam layers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,688, issued to Holliday, discloses a breast and chest protector comprised of a soft, rubberized foam exterior with a hard, high density plastic internal breast plate. Holliday primarily serves to protect female athletes from impacts caused by engaging in a high degree of bodily movement and physical contact. The function of the soft, rubberized foam exterior is to allow for adequate control of a ball in play, as may be required in soccer. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,805,610 and 7,179,150, both issued to Luk et al, disclose a molded bra having a core of molded foam and a laminated second foam layer. The purpose of the invention is to reduce the amount of stitching on bras by providing a seamless breast cup construction. These patents are not designed to minimize the amount of bounce, nor do they have foam that molds itself to the body.
Patents exist for support bras designed to minimize bounce for large women. U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,005, issued to Braaten, discloses a sports bra for larger women. U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,045, issued to Miller et al, discloses a bra for large breasted, athletic women. Neither of these patents, however, uses memory foam for their support. Miller does have “molded foam,” but rather, the lower half of the cup covering the wearer's breasts is molded from hot foam. It is not used to cover the entire breast area and shoulders as in the present invention, which uses memory foam throughout the area.
Two published patent applications disclose cushioning for sports bras. U.S. Pub. No. US 2003/0181129 A1, issued to Getman, discloses a bra pad whose cushioning material may be made out of polyurethane foam, rubber foam or PVC foam. U.S. Pub. No. US 2005/0101221 A1, issued to Abbey et al., discloses cushioning for the spine while performing floor activities such as Pilates. These applications provide cushioning, but do not particularly reduce movement.
Each of the previous prior art does not combine the no-bounce functionality, cushioning molded to the body, and a breathable fabric. As such, the prior art is limited in its comfort and quality.
The invention can be used by anyone ranging from females engaged in various athletic activities to those looking for everyday body support. The invention is designed to provide the ultimate in comfort, convenience, style, and form-fitting support.